iCloud could potentially do wonders for sync

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Source: macworld.com

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Cross-Device Productivity

By now we have heard all sorts of things about iCloud.

But the thing I am most interested in is how it will help me access documents that I am working with or need access to across my devices from my laptop to iPad to iPhone and my iMac at home.

I'm much more interested in how the service could theoretically improve my cross-device productivity.

Right now, iPad file management requires a combination of several kludgey methods.

Search the Web - including this very site - and you'll find plenty about the awesomeness of Dropbox, but not every iOS app supports it (including any of Apple's). The apps that do support Dropbox each rely upon their own implementation.

All this is true of Apple's own iDisk, too, except that we haven't spent much ink extolling that service's virtues.

(I don't use iDisk anymore. I found it slow and occasionally hungry for eating up my files.)

But if iCloud means we can stop relying on sending files between apps, we'll be thrilled.

Thus, my wish for iCloud is that it includes Dropbox-esque live document sharing and synchronization between Macs and iOS devices.

I want it to be built in such a way that developers can include it in their apps as easily as they can embed an Open dialog box (on the Mac) or call up the virtual keyboard (on iOS).

All the work - the syncing, the interface itself - should fall under Apple's purview, so that the experience is constant and equally available to all developers.

As I imagine it, I could create a document in Pages on my Mac and save it to iCloud.

When I go to my iPad, I can open the same document there from iCloud within the mobile Pages app.

And as with Google Docs, if I leave the document open on multiple devices at the same time, each of them automatically updates on-the-fly to remain current with whichever version I'm actually editing at that moment.

If iCloud merely simplifies that process with Dropbox-style syncing that's baked into the core of both Lion and iOS 5, I'll be on cloud nine.

But if Apple wants to send my joyousness levels into the stratosphere - and really, why wouldn't the company share that goal? - the process of saving files to and from iCloud will be seamless and nearly invisible.

Though I love Google Calendar, I prefer iCal overall, and iCal's Google Calendar support is weak.

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Easily download files from URLs on your Mac

Image via Wikipedia

Quickly download files from URLs | Mac OS X | Mac OS X Hints

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Source: macworld.com

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Using this tip, you will be able to create a service on OS X that will enable you to highlight a URL to download and use your new service to download it without opening any other application.

Let's say a friend sent you a link to an app or an MP3 file, and you just want to download the thing.
Normally, you'd copy the URL, open your browser, and paste the URL into the address bar. In some browsers, you'd even need to paste the URL into the address field, hit Enter, wait until the file loads, and then save it.
From the list of templates, select Service.
At the top right of the window, set the service to receive selected URLs in any application.
Then, in the Internet group of actions, double-click on Download URLs.
That will add it to the editing window on the right.
By default, it will download URLs to your Downloads folder; if you wish them to go somewhere else, select that other location from the Where drop-down.
Save the service and give it a name, such as Download Selected URL.
Now, in any app that supports services, find the URL of a downloadable file (or, for the purposes of testing, any URL at all) and select it with your cursor. Open the Services submenu from the application menu and select Download Selected URL from the list. (Or right-click on the selected URL and choose the service from the context menu’s Services section.)
The file connected to the selected URL should download to your selected folder.
If it's especially large, you'll see a spinning cogwheel on the right side of the menubar while the service is running; clicking on that will open a menu where you can cancel the download if you wish.
When the download is done, check the destination folder; your file should be there.
You can make this quicker by assigning a keyboard shortcut to your service: Open System Preferences and select the Keyboard preference pane.
In the Keyboard Shortcuts tab, select Services from the list to the left.
Find Download Selected URL in the list on the right and double-click to its right.
You can then enter a keyboard shortcut - Control-Command-D, perhaps - to assign it to your service.

Concepts:

Mac, download, app, Macworld, Prices, selected URL, accessories, keyboard, Customer Service, Publishing, Cameras, business, ipod, Leopard, Internet

Power Tip - How to really shrink the Dock

Image via Wikipedia

How to really shrink the Dock Operating Systems Mac OS X Hints Macworld

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Source: macworld.com

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You probably already know that you can shrink (or enlarge) the Dock by clicking and dragging the bars that separate the applications from folder stacks.
You probably also know that you can adjust the Dock size in System Preferences, by opening the Dock pane and draging the Size slider whichever way you want.
But these tools can only take you so far: They'll make the Dock small, but not really small.
To do that, you need to open the Terminal (Applications/Utilities) and type:

defaults write com.apple.dock tilesize -integer 8

Press Return, then type:

killall Dock

The number at the end of the command can range from 1 (too small to be useful) up to 16 (the smallest size you can achieve with those other tools); 8 is tiny but still visible.
To make such a small Dock useful, you'll probably want to turn on Dock magnification: In the Dock preferences pane, check the box by Magnification and adjust the slider.
If you want to get back to a more normal size, the easiest way to revert this setting is to open that preferences pane again and use the Size slider; as soon as you click and drag it, you'll be returned to the normal size range for the Dock.

Related articles

• How I set up a new Mac (macworld.com)
• DockView vs. HyperDock: Head-to-Head (appreaders.com)
• Change System Preferences by script (macworld.com)
• Command-Click OS X Dock Items to Show Them in Finder [Mac Tip] (lifehacker.com)
• Quickly Create A New Document In The Current Folder With Neu 1.0.1 (think-act-do.blogspot.com)
• Top Ways To Customize The Look Of A New Mac (brighthub.com)
• How to really shrink the Dock (macworld.com)

Image via Wikipedia

Keeping Your Mac Hard Drive Clean

CleanMyMac 1.9 by MacPaw

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macworld.com

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CleanMyMac 1.9 by MacPaw


macworld.com



It's difficult to grasp how much garbage accumulates on your desk in a matter of days.


More surprising still is just how filthy your Mac gets even after one or two software installs and a few days of use.


CleanMyMac digs down into the depths of your Mac's hard drive to find extraneous files such as unused language installations, leftover or broken preference files, Universal binaries, and a variety of other files that exist but aren't necessary on your Mac.


Opening the program displays CleanMyMac's main screen where you can choose to kick off a complete system scan or choose to scan only for specific types of files.


For me, the first scan resulted in over 14GB, about 8GB of which were files in my trash that, at the time of the scan, had not been emptied.


Otherwise, it was over 2GB each of language and cache files, with a couple gigs more of other things that were lurking in the dark corners of my Mac.


Once CleanMyMac finds those extra files, it displays detailed information about what those extras are and then you can choose which files you want removed or leave untouched.


CleanMyMac also scans every new drive that you mount and lets you know if there is wasted space on those drives, too.


CleanMyMac is slick, easy to use, and likely to be one of the fastest ways to gain extra space on your hard drive.


Want to stay up-to-date with the latest Gems?


Sign up for the Mac Gems newsletter for a weekly e-mail summary of Gems reviews sent directly to your inbox.


[Jeffery Battersby is an IT Consultant, Apple Trainer, (very) smalltime actor, and regular contributor to Macworld. He writes about Macs and more at his blog.]


We recommend these Utilities for their similarities to the CleanMyMac 1.9 in features, specs, ratings, and user interest.

CleanMyMac digs down into the depths of your Mac's hard drive to find extraneous files that aren't necessary on your Mac.

Data Rescue 3 is a program that every Mac user should at least know about, if not own outright, for those times when you need to restore important files.

Pester makes it easy and convenient to create simple alarms, timers, and reminders.

WhoPaste makes it simple to grab contact data from any source and automatically create a new contact record.

MoveAddict adds the capability to cut and paste files and folders in the Finder, along with some nifty features such as folder merging.

Software utility that's useful for removing old files, deleting all traces of uninstalled apps, and reminding you about common maintenance tasks, such as back-ups and system repairs.

Strengths: Cleans a great deal of clutter with no side effects or problems.

Overall: This app is the best investment I've ever made to keep my Mac clean and free of clutter.

I've used it for two weeks and recovered 3.56 GB of space that was pure junk.

Imagine what it would be in a year.

No problems with the aftermath of cleaning and my Mac runs faster than ever.

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• External Mac Hard Drive Options from Western Digital and Seagate (computer-drives-storage.suite101.com)
• How (and Why) to Clone Your Mac Hard Drive [MacRx] (cultofmac.com)
• Mac Gems: AddressBookSync ties Facebook friends to Address Book (macworld.com)
• Smoking Hot Mac Interface Design: 30 Stunning Apps (mac.appstorm.net)
• The Summer of Mac Gems (pcworld.com)
• Toshiba Canvio for Mac Portable Hard Drive Available now (slashgear.com)
• Maintain and clean your Mac with MacKeeper (en.onsoftware.com)
• Mac Gems: CleanMyMac gets rid of hard drive crud (macworld.com)

Image by insidetwit via Flickr

Mac Gems I’m thankful for

Here's an extract from an article on MacWorld I found very useful since I use mostly

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Source: macworld.com

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It’s Thanksgiving day here in the U.S., and I want to wish all our U.S. readers a happy holiday. Since Thanksgiving falls on a Thursday, which is also a Mac Gems day on the Macworld calendar, I thought I’d mention a few Gems I’m thankful for—the inexpensive apps and utilities that I use every day to increase my productivity and generally make my Mac-using life a bit better.

This isn’t a list of our all-time favorite Gems; we published the most-recent version of that list back in June (although some of those products appear on this list, as well). Nor is it a list of my favorite Gems of 2009; you’ll see that one the week we publish our annual Eddy Awards. Rather, this is a list of Gems that I continue to use every day—Gems that have become such an integral part of my workflow that I often take them for granted.

To the developers of these programs, and of the many other great-but-inexpensive software titles out there, thank you. The Mac experience is better because of you.

1. DocumentPalette: I use DocumentPalette many times each day to create a new document in the current folder via a keyboard shortcut—I just choose the type of document from the palette that appears.

2. Dropbox: Over the years, I’ve tried many methods for keeping particular files in sync between my computers, and for sharing files with friends and family. Dropbox, with its Finder integration and automatic syncing, makes it easy.

3. FlexCal: Flexcal lets me create new iCal (or BusyCal) events without having to open my calendar program. I just press a keyboard shortcut and provide the event details.

4. Growl: More and more of my favorite programs take adantage of Growl to provide notifications and updates. Throw in HardwareGrower, a Growl add-on that informs me of hardware and network connections and disconnections, and my Mac feels lacking without this utility.

5. Jumpcut: As a writer, I consider a multiple-Clipboard utility to be a must, and Jumpcut remains my personal favorite for its ease of use and elegant interface.

6. LaunchBar: Jason Snell put it best: “If I could have only one Mac utility, a solitary piece of software that I could use to improve using my Mac and all its programs as I went about my daily business, it would be Objective Development’s LaunchBar. When I use a Mac that doesn’t have LaunchBar running, I simply feel naked.”

7. MagiCal: Snow Leopard finally lets you put the date in the menu bar, but I still prefer MagiCal, which instead uses a tiny calendar icon for the date; clicking on the icon displays a useful monthly calendar.

8. Mercury Mover: Among this add-on’s many features, the one I use the most is the capability to quickly restore windows to particular sizes and positions. For example, by pressing Mercury Mover’s keyboard shortcut followed by S, my Safari window is instantly placed in my favorite location with my favorite dimensions.

9. MondoMouse: I use MondoMouse dozens of times each day to move and resize windows without having to grab a thin title bar or a tiny resize box—heck, without even having to click a mouse button.

10. ScreenSharingMenulet: Using OS X’s Screen Sharing feature between my Macs has become a regular part of my daily routine, and ScreenSharingMenulet has made making those Screen Sharing connections simple.

11. Sharpshooter: Tech writers take screenshots—lots of screenshots. When I choose to use Mac OS X’s built-in screenshot features, Sharpshooter lets me choose, on the fly, the screenshot format, name, and save location.

12. Shimo: Mac OS X’s built-in VPN functionality doesn’t hold a candle to Shimo, which provides more features, more-reliable connections, and many automation options. It’s also a much-improved alternative to Cisco’s OS X VPN software. Did I mention it provides Growl notifications?

13. SuperDuper: I’m paranoid about data loss, so I have a rigorous backup routine. Part of that routine is to use SuperDuper to schedule six clone operations every day—two each of three different drives. If a drive dies, I can be back up and running without much delay.

14. TextExpander: In my line of work, a text-expansion utility—which automatically pastes frequently used text whenever I type a corresponding abbreviation—is up there with multiple Clipboards in terms of productivity gains. And TextExpander is my current favorite. According to the program’s own tally, I’ve expanded over 5500 snippets over the past couple years.

15. Today: Today shows me the day’s events and tasks in a space-saving window, even if iCal or BusyCal is closed.

16. Witch: OS X lets you switch between windows in the current program by pressing Command+`. Witch puts that feature to shame by displaying a list of every window in every application, letting you easily switch to—or act on—any of them.

There are plenty of other Gems that I use regularly, but these see daily action on my Mac and have worked their way into my routines. What are your most-used—and most overlooked—Mac Gems? Let us know in the comments. And if you're celebrating today, have a great Thanksgiving, and thanks for reading.